Belgian Resistance
The Belgian Resistance (French: Résistance belge, Dutch: Belgisch verzet) is the term used to denote the collection of Belgian resistance movements that fought against the Nazi German occupation of Belgium during World War II. Within Belgium, resistance was fragmented between a large number of different regional and political organizations which, aside from sabotage and attacks on military installations or lines of communication, also published of underground newspapers, gathered intelligence information and maintained various escape networks that helped Allied airmen trapped behind enemy lines.[1] The men and women of the resistance came from both French and Flemish groups in the country. During the war, it is estimated that approximately 5% of the national population were involved in resistance activity.[2] Some estimates put the number of resistance members killed during the war at over 19,000, roughly 25% of its "active" members.[3]
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Background [edit]
- See also Belgium in World War II
Belgium was a neutral country, but by November 1939 intelligence reports of an impending German attack reached a peak. The Germans had invaded Poland and France and the United Kingdom declared war on Germany.
The Germans wanted to remove potential aggressors to their west to avoid fighting on two fronts, a strategy which crippled their abilities in World War I. The German Army needed to push through neutral Belgium in order to attack France. The French and British sent soldiers to aid in the fight against the Germans but despite their efforts, the Germans secured the unconditional surrender of Belgium after 18 days of fighting. The King of Belgium, King Leopold III, went against his cabinet by deciding to surrender the country. King Leopold III was taken as a prisoner of war. Despite this, while imprisoned, in 1942 he sent a letter to Adolf Hitler which has been credited with saving an estimated 500,000 Belgian women and children from deportation to munitions factories in Germany.[4] The members of the cabinet retreated to England, where they set up a government in exile.
Growth of resistance [edit]
Immediately after the surrender, numerous resistance groups were formed in Belgium to harass the German Army. These were made up particularly of soldiers of the defeated army, communists and students. Due to Germany's failure to sway the Belgian citizens during the German occupation in World War I, the invading army sought to establish itself as a liberating force from British imperialism. However, many citizens were quick to aid in the fight against the Germans. The situation in Belgium is documented in Roger Motz's book Belgium Unvanquished which describes the atmosphere of resistance as being "relentless".[5]
Reportedly, more German troops were killed in Belgium in 1941 than in occupied France.[6] Due to the large number of Belgian citizens who were willing to aid the resistance fighters, supply lines were established and evasion routes were charted. The Belgian resistance fighters were determined to aid the Allies in any way they could.
Unusually the Belgian resistance would also come to include the Légion Belge, a far right resistance movement led by dissident Rexists and the National Legion of Paul Hoornaert who opposed the occupation.[7]
The Independence Front, a mostly communist-led resistance network, was one of the most important in Belgium. It included a specific Austrian communist network, the Österreichische Freiheitsfront.
The Belgian resistance effort was fragmented between various groups and never became a unified organization during the German occupation.[2] The Belgian government in exile dealt with Belgian resistance groups collectively with the largest group, the Armée Secrète, but the government in exile had independent liaison with the various smaller, regional groups.[8]
List of Resistance organizations [edit]
The resistance in Belgium was highly fragmented, and a plethora of independent groups operated around the country, many of which had distinct political or regional affiliations:
| Name | Dates operational | Political stance | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Secret Army (AS) | 1944-1945 | Various, many center-right | The biggest national resistance organization which existed around the country and was sympathetic to the government in exile. |
| Front of Independence (FI) | 1941-1944 | Left-wing | The second biggest resistance group, formed before the Armée secrète and politically left-wing. It was responsible for the Faux Soir hoax in 1943. |
| Partisans Armés (PA) | 1940-1943 | Communist | A communist resistance group, closely affiliated with the Communist Party of Belgium. It was always quite small in size, and was nearly destroyed by German arrests of its leading members in 1943. |
| Groupe G | 1942-1944 | Various | A small politically non-aligned group made up of students, notable for a series of highly successful attacks on railway lines. |
| Belgian National Movement (MNB) | 1940-1944 | Centerist | A group based in Brussels which, amongst other things, published the clandestine newspaper La Voix des Belges. It was severely undermined by German raids in 1944. |
| Committee of Jewish Defence (CDJ) | 1942-1944 | A tiny, but highly successful, organization focused on providing false papers to persecuted Jews in Belgium. | |
| Belgian Military Organisation of Resistance (OMBR) | |||
| Patriotic Militia | Communist | The Milices were intended to be a mass movement, working alongside the much smaller Partisans Armés (PA) group | |
| Witte Brigade-Fidelio | 1940-1944 | An Antwerp-based group, specializing in propaganda but which was also active in the Allied liberation of Antwerp in 1944. | |
| Revived Belgian Army | 1940-1941 | ||
| Service D | 1940-1944 | ||
| Belgian Legion | 1941-1943 | Various, including Fascism | |
| National Royalist Movement (MNR) | 1940-1944 | Fascist | Supporters of installing an authoritarian regime under Leopold III |
| Army of Liberation | |||
| Legion of Campine (KL) | |||
| Insoumis |
Forms of resistance [edit]
Escape Routes [edit]
As the "Air War" in Europe became more significant, large numbers of RAF and USAAF pilots were shot down over Belgium, which many bombers had to cross to reach their targets. German ground forces would attempt to arrest downed pilots and intern them in Prisoner of War Camps, so a key role of the resistance was to hide these pilots and attempt to find a way for them to return to England. The Comet Line had a series of safe houses throughout Belgium, where allied airmen were given civilian clothes and were moved from house to house, staying with Belgian families who supported the resistance.[9] The resistance would aid the airmen by giving them false papers and guiding them to either neutral Spain or Switzerland. The networks were so well co-ordinated that in one well-known incident, which was filmed, a German soldier was shown lighting the cigarette of an American Navigator who was disguised as a Belgian civilian.[10] Though many airmen were able to escape successfully, many others were caught by the Germans, sometimes after months of successful evasion.
Sabotage [edit]
The principal contribution of the Belgian resistance was sabotage, particularly of the important railway routes which carried German troops through the country. Between June and September 1944, 95 railroad bridges, 285 locomotives, 1,365 wagons and 17 tunnels were all blown up by the Belgian resistance.[11]
In one action alone, 600 German soldiers were killed when a railway bridge between La Gleize and Stoumont was blown up by 40 members of the resistance, including the writer Herman Bodson.[12]
One faction of the resistance, known as Groupe G carried out numerous successful sabotage missions. The Germans were continuously tested by the resistance groups. Through its activities during the war, Groupe G forced the Germans to expend 20 million man-hours of labour on repairing sabotage done by the underground.[10]
Intellegence gathering [edit]
Belgian resistance organisations were active in gathering intelligence through the war, and it is estimated that around 80% of all reconnaissance information from resistance groups in Europe received by the allies came from groups in Belgium.[13]
Propaganda [edit]
Resistance organizations were also involved in publishing underground newspapers. Most were published bi-monthly like La Voix des Belges and were intended as sources of uncensored news, however others like the one-off Faux Soir were produced and distributed as propaganda which would
Liberation [edit]
After liberation, many former members of the resistance joined the regular Belgian army's "fusilier battalions" which managed to recruit 100,000 additional men in Belgium between September 1944 and VE Day.
Casualties [edit]
Resistance fighters captured by the Germans would either be imprisoned or shot. Members were always at risk of being captured or betrayed. The Germans had agents working against the resistance forces. The agents were told to make connections within the underground communities in order to gather intelligence. German agents, working within the resistance groups, were responsible for the arrests of hundreds of Belgian citizens, Allied soldiers and resistance fighters.[14] Escape routes were sometimes traps and many downed airmen, as well as resistance fighters, were captured this way.
Around 4,000 members of the largest resistance group, the Armée secrète, died during the war,[15] while smaller organisations also sustained high casualties.
Achievements [edit]
Resistance fighters are credited with stopping a German train, known as the Twentieth convoy, which was transporting Jewish prisoners to Auschwitz death camp, saving many hundred lives.[16]
The use of sabotage as an effective weapon was not realized until World War II. The German Army lost thousands of trains during the war due to acts of sabotage. German units were spread throughout Europe and many smaller units were targeted by resistance fighters. Ambushes were a common tactic used. Rail lines were very often targeted to disrupt the flow of materials and men for the German Army. Stretches of track were rigged with explosive charges and would be set to explode as the train passed over them. The resistance groups cost the German Army millions of dollars worth of equipment[clarification needed] and had a large psychological effect on the German soldiers.[citation needed] By stalling and delaying the German forces, the Belgian Resistance group prevented the Axis from ever establishing a stable base of operations in occupied Belgium.[17]
Popular culture [edit]
- A 1977 film, Secret Agents, dealt with the Belgian Resistance.[citation needed]
- A BBC series, Secret Army, was filmed during the late 1970s based on the Comet Line
- An American documentary in 2006 called Last Best Hope[18] premiered in Brussels for Prince Phillipe, the Belgian Army, and diplomats from five countries. Film makers David Grosvenor, Mat Hames, Ramona Kelly, and Walter Verstraeten presented the film to surviving Belgian Resistance members Andrée de Jongh, Raymond Itterbeek, Michou and Nadine Dumon and others. An edited version aired in the U.S. on PBS in 2006 and 2007 and on European television in 2007.
- A History Channel documentary called Nazi Ghost Train was released in 2000 and interviews members of the Belgian Resistance at a reunion. Surviving Allied pilots also attend to pay respect to the men and women who risked their lives to keep them from falling into German hands.
Notable Members [edit]
- Andrée de Jongh organized the Comet Line for escaped Allied soldiers.
- Albert Guérisse organized escape routes for downed Allied pilots under the alias of Patrick Albert "Pat" O'Leary. His escape line was dubbed the Pat Line.
- Andrée "Nadine" Dumon OBE helped rescue 27 Allied fliers and worked as a courier for the resistance.[1][19]
- Baron Georges Schnek, operating mainly in France helped provide false Identity papers and ration coupons to persecuted Jewish families.[1]
- Jean ("Johnny") Voste, the one documented black prisoner at Dachau concentration camp, was a Belgian resistance fighter from the Congo; he was arrested in 1942 for alleged sabotage, and was one of the survivors of Dachau.[20][21][22]
See also [edit]
References [edit]
- ^ a b c "Remembering The Resistance". CBS News. 27 October 2005.
- ^ a b Conway, Martin. The sorrows of Belgium : liberation and political reconstruction, 1944-1947. Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 21. ISBN 9780199694341.
- ^ Henri Bernard's estimate puts resistance casualties at 19,048 of around 70,000 active members. Quoted in Bailly, Michel (8 October 1990). "20,000 Résistants Belges Tués". Le Soir. Retrieved 15 February 2013.
- ^ Leopold III. (2009). In Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved February 12, 2009, from Encyclopædia Britannica Online:
- ^ Motz, Roger. Belgium unvanquished (Europe under the Nazis). Great Britain: L. Drummond, 1942.
- ^ Smith, Howard K. (1942). Last Train from Berlin. Knopf. p. 317.
- ^ R.J.B. Bosworth, The Oxford Handbook of Fascism, Oxford University Press, 2009, p. 482
- ^ Carlos C. Jurado, Resistance Warfare 1940-45, p. 15, London: Osprey, 1986
- ^ John Clinch (2004). "Comète Line". Escape Line Research and Remembrance. Retrieved 16 October 2010.
- ^ a b Miller, Russell. The Resistance: WWII Time Life Education. 1979.
- ^ "Sabotage". belgium.under.ground.freeservers.com. Retrieved 29 December 2012.
- ^ Bodson, Herman (1994). Agent for the Resistance : a Belgian saboteur in World War II (1. ed. ed.). College Station: Texas A & M Univ. Press. pp. 150–153. ISBN 9780890966075.
- ^ "The Belgian resistance". www.historylearningsite.co.uk. Retrieved 27 December 2012.
- ^ Bodson, Herman "Agent for the Resistance" Pages 190-192 Texas A&M Press. 1994
- ^ "Site de la Fondation Armée Secrète". www.sgl-fas.be.
- ^ Valerie J. Nelson, Times Staff Writer (March 7, 2006). "William Herskovic, 91; Bel Air Camera Founder Escaped Auschwitz, Fueled Belgian Resistance". LA Times. Retrieved 18 September 2010.
- ^ European Resistance Movements, 1939-1945: A Complete History. Meckler Publishing. 1981
- ^ http://www.alpheusmedia.com/lastbesthope
- ^ 1940–45: Un combat pour la Liberté(in French)
- ^ "The Only Black Prisoner at Dachau Prepares Food With Another Survivor". Jewish Virtual Library. May 1945. Retrieved 26 September 2012.
- ^ "Photograph: "Two survivors prepare food outside the barracks. The man on the right, presumably, is Jean (Johnny) Voste, born in Belgian Congo, who was the only black prisoner in Dachau. Dachau, Germany, May 1945."". US Holocaust Memorial Museum. Retrieved 26 September 2012.
- ^ "Blacks During the Holocaust". Holocaust Encyclopedia. US Holocaust Memorial Museum. Retrieved 26 September 2012.
External links [edit]
- (French) Gotovitch, José (1992). Du rouge au tricolore : les communistes belges de 1939 à 1944 : un aspect de l'histoire de la Résistance en Belgique. Bruxelles: Labor. p. 609. ISBN 2804006425.
- Nelson, Valerie (7 March 2006). "William Herskovic, 91; Bel Air Camera Founder Escaped Auschwitz, Fueled Belgian Resistance". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 25 February 2013.
- (French) Bailly, Michel (9 October 1990). "Résistance des militaires dès l'été 40". Le Soir. Retrieved 25 February 2013.
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